Race To Remember 2009

On a cold and wet Sunday morning, nearly 600 runners converged upon the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial to participate in the 2nd Annual Race to Remember, organized by the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC, and benefitting the NLEOMF. Runners of all ages (under 10 to over 70) and from as far away as New Mexico, Texas, and Ohio completed the 5K course through the heart of the Nation’s Capital.

Before the race, Memorial Fund Chairman -- and race participant -- Craig Floyd thanked the runners, not only for participating in the race, but also for their support of the Memorial and our efforts to build the National Law Enforcement Museum. MPD Chief Cathy Lanier, who participated with her “biggest loser” MPD team, spoke of the importance of remembering and honoring the sacrifice of all the fallen law enforcement officers. She expressed her gratitude for the Memorial, and her desire to see the race grow to over 1,000 runners next year. Joseph Persichini, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office, and about two dozen members of the current 239th Session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico also ran (Joe finishing with a great time of 22:17).

After the race, awards were presented to the winners in various age categories and to the overall top three male and female competitors. Overall male and race winner Keith Pierce of Cedar Park, TX, finished with an outstanding time of 15:17, beating out Jeremy Lee and Kyle Faerber, both of Ohio, who finished with times of 15:43 and 16:26, respectively. For the women, Brittney Rooks, just 15 years old from Baltimore, MD, came in first with a time of 20:18, followed closely by Monica Soto, 21:12 and Katharine Anderson, 22:30, both from Washington, DC. (Complete race results are available online.)

Special thanks to our generous race sponsors -- the Fraternal Order of Police Metropolitan Police Department Labor Committee and the Police Federal Credit Union -- and to supporters EAS Myoplex and GOSmart Pocket Pedometers by Omron, along with race partner Run Washington, for tracking all of the times and race results. The race would not have been possible without the efforts of the Fraternal Order of Police DC Lodge #1, Lodge President (and NLEOMF Board member) Marcello Muzatti and MPD Assistant Chief Patrick Burke (who joined his children in running the 5K course). And, of cousse, all of the volunteers who came out to help early on a Sunday morning.